Repsol has been incorporating biofuels into its automotive fuels for more than two decades
Repsol headquarters in Madrid, Spain. (Credit: Luis García/Wikipedia)
Repsol’s Chairman, Antonio Brufau, today attended the presentation of the beginning of the construction works of the first advanced biofuels plant in Spain at the company’s Cartagena refinery. At the event, he was accompanied by the Director of the industrial complex, Antonio Mestre, and by the President of the Autonomous Community of the Region of Murcia, Fernando López Miras, the Delegate of the national Government in the Region of Murcia, José Vélez, the Mayoress of Cartagena, Noelia Arroyo, and other representatives of the regional and local authorities and business entities. After learning about the details of the project, they went inside the refinery to visit the area where the hydrotreatment plant will be installed.
Repsol, in alignment with its ambition to become a net zero emissions company by 2050, will invest €200 million in this project that will enable the supply of 250,000 tons per year of advanced biofuels, such as biodiesel, biojet, bionaphtha, and biopropane to be used in planes, trucks or cars without the need for modifications of the existing engines. These eco-fuels will be produced from residues and their use will help reduce 900,000 tons of CO2 per year.
The Chairman of Repsol assured that “with this project, Cartagena is going to consolidate itself as a supply center of fundamental products for the present and for the future, and an example of Repsol’s commitment to sustainable mobility.” Antonio Brufau stressed the importance of committing to technological neutrality to be able to advance towards the goal of achieving zero net emissions by 2050. He called on public administrations to create “an enabling, facilitating, flexible, and non-exclusive regulation” that will permit the development of future projects, since only in this way ” will we be protecting our economy, industry, and employment”.
For his part, the President of the Regional Government, Fernando López Miras, said that “Repsol represents a commitment to progress, development, and sustainability. Cartagena and Repsol have grown hand in hand, to a degree that it is not possible to understand the development of Escombreras and its conversion into a global energy hub without Repsol. And now, we the add good news of the construction of the first advanced biofuels plant in Spain, a cutting-edge plant that is a magnificent example of the socalled circular economy.”
The Delegate of the national Government in the Region of Murcia, José Vélez, pointed out that “with the construction of this first advanced biofuels plant, Repsol will once again be one of the major companies in the region, channeling quality employment and powerful investments, placing the region at the forefront of technological development.”
The Mayoress of Cartagena, Noelia Arroyo, considers that “what begins today is another great industrial commitment of Repsol in Cartagena, for the investment it represents, for the employment it generates, and for the activity it will bring to the Escombreras Valley.” In addition, she emphasized that “it exemplifies the industrial application of the most avant-garde research in the generation of fuels through recycling.”
Regarding the project, the Director of the refinery of Repsol in Cartagena, Antonio Mestre, highlighted that the new plant “is a tangible example of circular economy that will allow us to offer sustainable mobility solutions to all sectors of society, and it is a very important step in the transformation of the industrial complex as a multi-energy hub.”
Source: Company Press Release